News / Palestine

Israel troops fire upon Gazan farmers, fishermen

Saturday, 16 May 2015 9:46 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 16 May 2015 9:56 AM ]

Israeli regime forces firing off their weapons targeting Palestinians (file photo)

Israeli forces have opened fire on Palestinian farmers in the central parts of the Gaza Strip and on fishing boats in the southern part of the besieged enclave.

On Saturday, Israeli soldiers and armored military vehicles fired rounds of live ammunition across Gaza's border fence on the farmers and a number of shepherds east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, the Middle East Monitor publication reported.

The residents were forced to flee the area fearing an intensification of the attack, according to local media.

Israeli Navy soldiers stand guard on a ship. (File photo)

This is while Israeli navy ships fired several rounds of live ammunition on a number of Palestinian fishing boats in Gaza waters, near the Khan Younis shore south of the enclave.

The targeted fishermen sailed back to shore to avoid further fire by the Israeli navy ships.

So far no casualties have been reported in the two attacks; however, the navy fire caused property damage.

The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007. The blockade, which has cut off the territory from the outside world, has led to an economic and humanitarian crisis in the densely-populated enclave.

The people of Gaza are also grappling with repercussions of Israel’s devastating offensive last summer, which left some 2,200 people dead and demolished buildings and structures.

According to a recent report by the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), 12,400 houses were razed to the ground in the Israeli aggression, which also damaged more than 160,000 homes, leaving 100,000 people homeless. The aggression also led to the displacement of more than a quarter of Gaza’s population of 1.7 million.

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